The Monster at the End of this Entry

Something comes over me when I enter a Costco. I. Must. Have. Everything! There's something innately satisfying about having a house of full of food and paper things. If a major blizzard hits, we'll be fine, eating our canned tomatoes and pooping into our size 3 Cruiser diapers. Of course, if I limited my purchases to food and paper goods, we'd be in much better financial shape. But I get caught in the aisles. Swayed by the gleaming quanties. Seduced by the per item prices. So, I also purchased over 100 bulbs that I really will plant (no, really!) as soon as the rain stops. I bought a raft of wrapping paper that will come in handy, as we know a zillion babies who all have birthdays coming up. I have enough deodorant and laundry detergent to keep me smelling fresh into the next decade.

Now, the one thing I won't buy at Costco is books. I'm morally opposed to buying books at Costco. However, when passing the book aisle, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted a board book version of The Monster at the End of This Book. I had completely forgotten about this book! But my sister and I certainly read it, and of course, I had to buy it for Doodles. It was sealed in the store, but once we got home and I pulled off the plastic, I had an incredible sense of deja vu. How could I have forgotten this book? I hadn't realized how great Grover is until I re-heard "Monster in the Mirror" and then re-read this book. What a powerful lesson Grover has for all of us. The metafictional way Grover so cleverly breaks the fourth wall and so clearly refers back to the text is obviously Sesame Street's way of introducing literary theory to the tot set. "Wubba wubba wubba wubba woo woo woo. That monster at the end of this entry, he just might be you!"